Staircase

ABSTRACT

A staircase includes a plurality of stacked, substantially identical sections, each including a pair of parallel walls having a vertical extent of approximately one story. Corresponding edges of the parallel walls are aligned. Each wall includes a rectangular recess that extends from one vertical edge along a horizontal edge. A rectangular slot is located approximately midway between the horizontal edges of each wall. The slot extends from the vertical edge of the wall opposite from the edge including the recess. Preformed landings supported by the slots and recesses extend between the parallel walls. Preformed stairway sections having a vertical extent of one-half a story extend upwardly and downwardly from the landing located in the slot to landings in the recesses. The stairways are supported by abutments in rectangular indentations of the landings.

[ Aug. 20, 1974" STAIRCASE [75] Inventor: Adolfo Tylius, Washington, D.C.

[73] Assignee: Alvic Development Corporation,

Washington, D.C.

22 Filed: Jan. 25, 1972 21 'Appl. No.: 220,616

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 35,484, May 7,

1970, Pat. No. 3,656,266.

OTHER PUBLICATIONS Prefabrication, October 1956, p. 552.

Primary Examiner-Henry C. Sutherland Assistant Examiner-Mark l-I. Wolk Attorney, Agent, or FirmLowe, King and Price ABSTRACT A staircase includes a plurality of stacked, substantially identical sections, each including a pair of parallel walls having a vertical extent of approximately one story. Corresponding edges of the parallel walls are aligned. Each wall includes a rectangular recess that extends from one vertical edge along a horizontal edge. A rectangular slot is located approximately midway between the horizontal edges of each wall. The slot extends from the vertical edge of the wall opposite from the edge including the recess. Preformed landings supported by the slots and recesses extend between the parallel walls. Preformed stairway sections having a vertical extent of one-half a story extend upwardly and downwardly from the landing located in the slot to landings in the recesses. The stairways are supported by abutments in rectangular indentations of the landings.

2 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTEMuszo 1974 STAIRCASE REFERENCE TO COPENDING APPLICATION The present application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application entitled Buildings", Ser. No. 35,484, filed May 7, 1970, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,656,266.

FIELD OF INVENTION The present invention relates generally to staircases and, more particularly, to a staircase formed of a plurality of preformed sections.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In my copening, previously mentioned application, there are described a number of buildings formed from a relatively small number of preformed or precast sections. Each of the sections, except those employed for forming staircases, is a relatively thin, substantially planar slab having several common dimensions, enabling transportation and manufacture to be facilitated. The staircase, however, includes several more difficult to fabricate and transport sections having appreciable height, length and depth, and which cannot be considered substantially planar.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, a staircase particularly adapted for use with buildings of the type disclosed in my aforementioned application is fabricated only from a relatively small number of precast or preformed substantially planar slabs and a plurality of preformed stairways having risers and treads. The staircase comprises a plurality of vertically stacked, substantially identical sections. Each section includes a pair of parallel, preformed load bearing wall slabs having substantially aligned edges. A pair of preformed landings extend at right angles to and are supported by the wall slabs. One of the landings is positioned approximately midway between the horizontal edges of each of the wall slabs and extends along the parallel walls from one vertical edge of the wall towards the interior of the wall. The other landing is positioned along a horizontal edge of each of the walls and extends along the walls from the vertical edge opposite from the vertical edge where the first named landing is located. One of the stairways, having a vertical extent of approximately one-half a story, extends upwardly from the landing positioned approximately midway between the horizontal edges of the walls to a landing one-half story higher, while another half story stairway extends downwardly from the landing midway between the horizontal edges to a landing of an adjacent stacked section.

Preferably, one of the landings is held in situ by a horizontally extending slot that is positioned approximately midway between the horizontal edges of each wall. The other landing is held in situ by a recess along one of the horizontal edges of the wall. The recess extends from an edge of the wall opposite from the edge on which the slot is located. The slot and recess arrangement for holding the landings in situ obviates requirements for protruding abutments at right angles to faces of the slabs comprising the walls, to facilitate manufacture and transportation, as well as to obviate to a great extent the possibility of breakage.

According to a further feature of the invention, staircases of high-rise buildings and townhouses can be fabricated utilizing substantially the same number of preformed segments. A staircase in a high-rise building, of the type disclosed in my aforementioned copending ap plication, includes, in accordance with the present invention, a slab having a generally pentagonal shape to separate stairway sections of adjacent apartment units. The only other added precast segment required for a high-rise building compared to a townhouse, utilizing the present invention, is a landing for carrying four stairways, two of which are a common or party stairway and two of which are interior of an apartment unit.

While the present invention is particularly suited for use in townhouse and high-rise buildings of the type disclosed in my aforementioned copending application, it is to be understood that the staircase has application in conjunction with conventional or other types of building constructions. Each staircase is fabricated from free standing, load bearing wall slabs that are stacked vertically on edge with each other. It is thereby possible to erect a staircase in accordance with the present invention and to construct the remainder of a building around the staircase. Each staircase section is provided with alternate landings having appreciable floor area. Thereby, building materials can easily be hoisted to and stored on the alternate landings, thereby further facilitating the construction of buildings wherein a staircase is erected prior to the remainder of the surrounding building.

It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved staircase.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved staircase fabricated from a limited number of preformed segments, all of which are planar, except for stairways having risers and treads.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved staircase section wherein landings are supported by walls without protruberances from the walls.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved free standing staircase having load bearing walls.

The above and still further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of one specific embodiment thereof, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a staircase in accordance with the present invention, as included in a mu]- ti-story townhouse;

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view taken along the lines 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a wall, platform and stairway section in accordance with the present invention, in combination with a pentagonal dividing wall of the type that is employed in conjunction with a highrise unit;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a wall for supporting landings in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a wall utilized in the building of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of slab segments utilized to form a penthouse for topping off the staircase of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of one of the platforms utilized with the staircase of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of another landing platform as employed with the present invention; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a landing particularly adapted for use in a high-rise building.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING Certain of the slabs utilized to form the staircase of the present invention and slabs of the building with which the staircase is connected correspond to slabs of the type disclosed in my aforementioned copending application. Corresponding slabs herein and in the copending application, therefore, bear the same reference numerals.

Reference is now made to FIG. 1 of the drawing wherein a townhouse building with which the staircase of the present invention is particularly adapted for use is illustrated as comprising three vertically stacked sections 11, 12 and 13, vertically displaced by one-half a story from a pair of vertically stacked sections 14 and 15. Each of sections 11-15 includes rooms of a split level dwelling and is substantially identical, being formed of a pair of parallel precast wall slabs 31 which run at right angles to a further pair of parallel, precast side wall slabs. Interior side wall slabs 35, which run between walls 31 are specifically illustrated in FIG. 1, but the end wall slabs are not illustrated. Walls 35 include door openings (not illustrated) for gaining access to vertically stacked staircase sections 16 and 17 which interconnect sections 12-15 and are topped off by and in horizontal alignment with penthouse section 18. Staircase sections 16 and 17 are horizontally aligned with sections 14 and 15, respectively, so that walls 32 of the staircase section are in vertical alignment with walls 31 of sections 14 and 15, but are displaced from walls 31 of sections 11 and 12 by approximately onehalf a story. A stairway between sections 11 and 14 is provided by properly grading the ground in a transitional region between these two sections and pouring concrete treads and landings in the graded ground as part of a foundation for the building. The floor of sections 11, 14 and 16 is also poured concrete, serving as the building foundation.

Each of staircase sections 16 and 17, in addition to including rectangular, precast slab end or exterior walls 32, includes a pair of parallel'interior wall slabs 41 and 42, which run at right angles to walls 35 and parallel to wall 32. Walls 41 and 42 are generally rectangular, precast concrete slabs, having the same general exterior dimensions. Wall 42 is provided with a door opening 40, while wall 41 is substantially solid to form a wall of a vent shaft 43 that runs between the several stories of the building. Since walls 41 and 42 are substantially identical with the exception of the door opening, a description of wall 41 suffices for both.

Wall 41 includes a rectangular recess 44 in its upper left-hand corner (as viewd in FIGS. 1 and 3) and slot 45 that extends from its right-hand, vertical edge. Slot 45 is disposed approximately midway between the upper and lower horizontally extending edges of wall 41. Recess 44 and slot 45, having approximately the same horizontal and vertical extents in opposite directions from opposite edges of slab 41, hold precast landings 46 and 47 for precast stairways and 61 in situ.

The staircase is formed by vertically stacking a number of precast slabs 41 and 42 on each other so that the lower edge of one slab bears against and is supported by the upper edge of the slab of the next lowest floor, except in the region of recesses 44, which carry landing portions 47 of slabs 48, FIG. 7. The lower faces of slabs 48, in rectangular slab portion 52 thereof, abut against and are supported by the upper edge of exterior slabs 32. To enable slabs 48 and 49 to fit into recesses 44 and to provide the proper load bearing relationship between adjacent vertical slabs 44, the slabs 41 have a height equal to the height of slabs 32 plus the thickness of slabs 48.

Slots 45 carry rectangular landings 46, having an extent between parallel walls 41 and 42 equal to the span between the walls and an extent along the length of the walls of approximately 3 feet 10 inches, a distance sufficient to provide turn-around between adjacent stairway sections. Landings 46 are vertically aligned with floor slabs 33 of sections 12 and 13. Recesses 44 carry the landing portion 47 of platform 48 or platform 49; selection of platform 48 or 49 is dependent upon the level in the building, whereby platform 49 is employed as a floor that is aligned with ceiling slabs 33 for building section 15 and platforms 48 are employed as a floor in staircase sections 16 and 17 in horizontal alignment with floor slabs 33 of building sections 14 and 15. The left-hand edges of platforms 48 and 49, as viewed in FIGS. 7 and 8, slide into recesses 44 of wall sections 41. The intersection between landing portion 47 and the rectangular slab portion 52 of platforms 48 and 49, as indicated by dashed line 51, abuts against recess 44 of wall 42. The right edges of platforms 48 and 49 are aligned with the outside edges of walls 32, on the right sides of sections 16, 17 and 18, FIG. 1, while the left edges of the platforms are aligned with the edges of slabs 41 that run along the inside of vent shaft 43. The lower faces of the right side of platforms 48 and 49 rest on walls 32 while the center and left side thereof fit into recesses 44 of wall slabs 42 and 41. To provide supporting surfaces for the lower faces of platforms 48 and 49 and to establish abutments that contact the vertical edges of protuberances 53 of the platform sections 47, the recesses 44 of walls 41 and 42 are vertically aligned with the upper edges of walls 32 of sections 16, 17 and 18, and the upper edges of walls 41 and 42 are in vertical alignment with the upper faces of platforms 48 and 49. Hence, the vertical extent or height of recesses 44 and slot 45 is substantially the same as the thickness of landings 46, 48 and 49.

Landings 46 and landing segments 47 of platforms 48 and 49 are substantially the same, so that a description of one generally suffices for the others. Each landing slab 46 or landing section 47 is of generally rectangular shape, having a thickness equal to the thickness of the other slabs and a length on the order of 9 feet 8 inches between parallel walls 41 and 42. Landing 46 and landing section 47 of platform 48 include two indentations 54, each having a longitudinal extent of approximately 3 feet 10 inches. and separated from each other by approximately 8 inches. The landing section of platform 49 is provided with only one such indentation, in proximity to the lefthand edge thereof, as viewed in FIG. 8. Protuberances 53 extend from indentations 54 to provide vertical, abutting faces for stairway sections adapted to be located in the indentations. Each indentation 54 includes an abutment 55 having a horizontal extent, i.e. thickness, of approximately one-half of the length of protuberances 53 away from the rest of the landing and a vertical extent of approximately one-half of the height of protuberances 53. In one particular embodiment, each of abutments 55 has a height of approximately 4 inches, a thickness of approximately 4 /2 inches, and a length of approximately 3 feet inches.

Abutments 55 of landings 46 and landing sections 47 are load bearing members contacting vertically and horizontally disposed faces on the underside of preformed, concrete cast stairways 60 and 61. Each of stairways 60 and 61 extends approximately one-half a story between one of landings 46 and one of landing sections 47, with the former extending upwardly and the latter extending downwardly. There are seven risers between the horizontally disposed top and bottom treads of each stairway 60 and 61. The upper and lower treads of stairways 60 are respectively aligned with the floor surfaces of slabs 48 or 49 and 46, while the upper and lower treads of stairways 61 are aligned with the floor surfaces of slabs 46 and 48.

Penthouse section 18 comprises a rectangular slab 35 that is identical with the rectangular slabs employed in sections 16 and 17 and spans the distance between a pair of parallel rectangular slabs 32. The windows of penthouse 18 are formed in slab 62, having the same length as slab 35 and a height equal to one-half a story. A roof for penthouse section 18 is provided by a pair of rectangular ceiling slabs 33, having abutting edges. A dividing wall slab 60, FIG. 5, having a door cutout and the same exterior dimensions as slabs 32 can be provided in the penthouse.

The present invention, with minor additions, as described infra, is applicable to forming the staircases of high-rise buildings, of the type particularly disclosed in my aforementioned copending application. In such an instance, as illustrated in FIG. 3, landing 46 serves as an entrance foyer to a pair of split level apartments; en-

trance to one of the apartments is gained with a stairway 61 that extends downwardly one-half a story, while entrance to the other split level unit is gained through a stairway that extends upwardly by one-half a story. It is necessary to separate the stairways of such units since doorways therefor are on the same level as landing 46.

To this end, generally pentagonal slab 63 is provided. Slab 63 has a height along edge 64 equal to the height of one story and sloping edges 65 and 66 that are aligned with the lower faces of stairway sections 61. Sloping edges 65 and 66 extend above the upper and lower horizontal edges 67 and 68 of slab 63 by a distance to accommodate the thicknesses of platforms 48 in the apartments above and below landing 46. To this end, lips 69 extend vertically for a distance of 8 inches from edges 67 and 68 to edges 65 and 66. Sloping edges 65 and 66 are respectively interconnected with the upwardly and downwardly extending lips 69 by horizontally extending edges 71 and 72, having an extent of ap- Sloping edges 65 and 66 do not intersect each other at a central location of slab 63. Instead, a rectangular notch 71 which fits into central protuberance 53 of landing 46 is provided in the region where edges 65 and 66 would intersect if projected. The upper edge of notch 71 extends horizontally beyond the lower edge thereof, to provide a greater bearing surface for the weight of slab 63 on the upper face of protuberance 53. To avoid triangular intersecting edges and to conform the shape of slab 63 to the outline of stairway section 61, the slab is provided with relatively short vertical edges 72 to interconnect edges 65 and 66 with the horizontally extending faces of notch 71.

In the high-rise building in my aforementioned copending application, party staircases proximate the exterior of the building are immediately adjacent stairways leading to split level units. A staircase in accordance with the present invention can be employed in such a situation with greater facility by providing a landing having four indentations, as illustrated in FIG. 9. Two of the indentations are provided for stairways leading upwardly and downwardly from the landing in the common, exterior staircase. The other two indentations are provided for stairways leading upwardly and downwardly from the landing to split level units.'The landing of FIG. 9 would be employed only on floors of the high-rise building having a corridor. On the remaining floors, landing platforms 48 and 49 would be employed in the units, and landing 46 would be employed in the common staircase.

The slabs included in the staircase of the present invention can be horizontally and vertically interconnected by any well known means, although the system disclosed in my US. Pat. No. 3,621,626 is preferred.

While there has been described and illustrated one specific embodiment of the invention, it will be clear that variations in the details of the embodiment specifically illustrated and described may be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A staircase comprising a pair of preformed load bearing straight stairway sections positioned so that they run parallel to each other, each of said stairway sections having a vertical extent of approximately onehalf a story, a pair of load bearing preformed parallel walls lying in planes parallel to the direction the stairway sections run and having a vertical extent of approximately one story, a preformed landing extending at right angles between and supported by said walls, means on each of said walls for supporting said landing approximately midway between the top and bottom edges of the walls, one of said stairway sections extending upwardly for approximately one-half story from said landing, the other of said stairway sections extending downwardly for approximately one-half story from said landing, the staircase further including another preformed wallseparating said stairway section, said wall lying in a plane parallel to the pair of parallel walls, said another wall having a vertical extent of approximately one story and a notch along a vertical edge, said notch being fitted into said landing so that the wall bears against the landing, said another wall including a pair of sloping edges approximately aligned with lower faces of the stairway sections and running in opposite directionsfrom the landing, said another wall including parallel horizontally extending edges substantially inlanding and the another wall includes vertically extending lips extending from the horizontal edges of the additional wall to the horizontal planes including extremities of the sloping edges so that the lips receive the additional landings. 

1. A staircase comprising a pair of preformed load bearing straight stairway sections positioned so that they run parallel to each other, each of said stairway sections having a vertical extent of approximately one-half a story, a pair of load bearing preformed parallel walls lying in planes parallel to the direction the stairway sections run and having a vertical extent of approximately one story, a preformed landing extending at right angles between and supported by said walls, means on each of said walls for supporting said landing approximately midway between the top and bottom edges of the walls, one of said stairway sections extending upwardly for approximately one-half story from said landing, the other of said stairway sections extending downwardly for approximately one-half story from said landing, the staircase further including another preformed wall separating said stairway section, said wall lying in a plane parallel to the pair of parallel walls, said another wall having a vertical extent of approximately one story and a notch along a vertical edge, said notch being fitted into said landing so that the wall bears against the landing, said another wall including a pair of sloping edges approximately aligned with lower faces of the stairway sections and running in opposite directions from the landing, said another wall including parallel horizontally extending edges substantially intersecting the sloping edges, said another wall including a vertically extending edge running between the horizontal edges and having an extent of approximately one story.
 2. The staircase of claim 1 wherein the sloping edges extend beyond lower and upper edges of additional landings respectively above and below the preformed landing and the another wall includes vertically extending lips extending from the horizontal edges of the additional wall to the horizontal planes including extremities of the sloping edges so that the lips receive the additional landings. 